Furniture construction



P 6, 1969 w. a. PARKER ETAL 3,467,434

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 10, 1968 Dorm/J W-Bm-L er Way/000 19. Par/kw 1 \VF Wok p 1969 w. a. PARKER ETAL 3,467,434

FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 10. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEY United States Patent ()fiice 3,467,434 Patented Sept. 16, 1969 3,467,434 FURNITURE CONSTRUCTION Wayland B. Parker and Donald W. Barker, South Boston,

Va., assignors to Schlumberger Limited (Schlumberger N.V.), New York, N.Y., a corporation of the Netherlands Antilles Filed Jan. 10, 1968, Ser. No. 696,868 Int. Cl. A47c /00, 7/00 US. Cl. 297445 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A furniture construction comprising independent members each constructed from high impact plastic materials are arranged for interfitting to provide a rigid assembly.

This invention relates to furniture, and more particularly to chair or table construction comprised essentially of plastic molded rigid members arranged, when interfitted, to form a unitary functionally integral piece of furniture.

Basically, there are two kinds of kitchen or dining room furniture constructions which are presently employed, i.e. a relatively expensive furniture piece constructed primarily from wood or a relatively inexpensive furniture piece constructed primarily from tubular metal. To enhance the aesthetic appearance of metal tubular furniture, plastic sheaths such as illustrated in US. Patent No. 3,240,460, have been used for decorative appearance. Also along this line, plastic constructed chair backs have been devised to enhance the appearance of a furniture piece.

Typically, in a furniture piece constructed from wooden members, the aethetic appearance can be obtained by carving or shaping and the various members are doweled, glued and bolted to one another to form an integral furniture piece. The various operations involved in construction contribute substantially to the expense or cost of the furniture piece.

Chairs or tables which use metal tubular members for legs and support members have the advantage of involving a lesser number of construction operations with corresponding lower costs, but they are not as decorative and lack the aethetic decorative values found in wood furniture.

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide new and improved furniture construction of low cost materials to provide a rigid structure, when assembled, aesthetic decorative values and reduced assembly time.

The novel features of the present invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as to its organization and manner of operation together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by way of illustration and example of embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a view of a chair constructed in accordance with the present invention when viewed from a front elevation;

FIGURE 2 is a view of the various members of a chair constructed in accordance with the present invention and an expanded spacial arrangement;

FIGURE 3 is a view taken along 3-3 of FIGURE 2; and

FIGURE 4 is a side view of a chair embodying the present invention.

A completely assembled chair is shown at 10 in FIG- URE l and includes a backrest 11, side members 12, 13 and front and rear skirts 14, 15, the rear skirt being shown in more detail in FIGURE 2. Attached to the chair frame is a cushion member 16 or the like which completes the assembly.

As shown in FIGURE 2, a side member 13 of the chair construction is constructed in one piece and has a front leg 16, a rear leg 17, a side skirt 18 and an upwardly extending backrest support 19. As shown in FIGURES 2 and 4, side member 12 has similar mirror image members 16a-19a. Midway of the side skirts 18 and 18a are inwardly extending tabs 20 and 20a (see FIGURE 3) with apertures 21 and 21a for receiving screws to attach the cushion member 16 to a chair frame.

The front and rear skirts 14 and 15 are respectively formed to complement adjacent front surfaces 22 and 22a of the side members 22 and 21. Each skirt 14 and 15 is respectively provided with outwardly extending interlocking projections 23 and 24 (as illustrated on skirt 14) on side surfaces 25 and 26. Projections 23 and 24 are constructed and arranged to be received Within complementally shaped recesses 27 and 28 (as illustrated on side member 12) in each of the respective side members 13 and 14. Each of the side members 12 and 13 has integrally attached thereto upper and lower bolt members 29-32 (as illustrated on side member 12). Each of the skirt members 14 and 15 is provided with openings 33-36 for receiving the bolt members. In assembly, the bolt members 29-32 in a side member pass through the corresponding openings 33-36 in front and rear skirt members 14 and 15 and suitable nuts and washers (not shown) attach the skirt members 14, 15 to each side member 12 and 13, the interlocking projections 23, 24 fitting snugly into the complementally shaped recesses 27, 28. The front and rear skirts are also provided with centrally located tab portions 37, 38 With suitable apertures 39, 40 for receiving screws for attaching the cushion member 16 to the chair frame.

A one-piece, molded backrest 11 is formed with a lower support portion 41 dimensioned to fit between the rear backrest supports 19, 19a and an upper support portion 42 dimensioned to extend over the backrest supports 19, 19a. Upper support portion 42 has downwardly extending dowel pins or projections 43, 44 which are adapted to be received in the complementally-sized Openings 45 and 46 in the respective upper ends of the back support members 19a and 19. For construction purposes, the lower portion of the back support can be recessed near its lower ends as shown by numeral 47 to receive L-shaped attachments 48, 48a secured to the back support members 19 and 19a. Screws can be used to attach the L-shaped attachments 48 and 48a to the back support members 19 and 19a.

Each of the members is formed by injection molding in a well known manner to form the respective parts. A suitable material which can be used is a high impact, polystyrene reinforced with fiber glass. It has been found that this material will provide sufficient rigidity for use as a furniture construction. By making the side members in a single piece, additional strength is built into the chair construction. The interlocking arrangement between the skirts and the side members provide for rigid interconnection when the skirt members are bolted to the side members. It will be readily appreciated that there is little assembly involved in the chair construction in terms of time, and that the chair may be easily assembled at a delivery point rather than at the point of origin as is customary in most furniture manufacture. In addition, it will be appreciated that different designs of chair backs can be used with a fundamental overall chair design so that different motifs can be created without excess inventory reguirements. As illustrated, the parts can be molded with configurations simulating wood constructions and thereby providing aesthetic values. Moreover, the construction is more durable than a wood construction.

While the foregoing description has been related to a chair construction, it will be readily appreciated that a table base can be constructed by use of the principles heretofore described.

With reference to the backrest 11, it will be appreciated that a common design of chair frame can be matched well with other different backrest designs. As to the bracket attachments 48, 48a, it will be appreciated that other forms of interlocking means can readily be adapted for attaching purposes.

We claim:

1. A furniture frame construction comprising base means including a set of monolithic side frames with legs, said side frames having inner surfaces in facing relationship to one another, another set of side frames, said other side frames having end surfaces for engagement with said inner surfaces, said base means being constructed of high strength plastic material to a simulated wood appearance, interconnecting means for attaching one set of side frames to the other set of side frames including complementally arranged apertures and insertable attaching means sized to be received by said apertures, said apertures and attaching means respectively being a part of adjacent frame means, complementally arranged recesses and interlocking projection means sized to be received by said recesses, said interconnecting means enabling the engageable end surfaces to be placed in tight contact with said inner surfaces as well as interconnecting said side frames to form a functionally integral frame construction.

2. The construction of claim 1 wherein adjacent contacting surfaces of abutting side frames have complementally arranged recesses and interlocking projection means sized to be received by said recesses.

3. A furniture frame construction comprising side frame means each having front and rear legs, a side skirt and a back support member said side skirt having inner surfaces, front and back skirt means having end surfaces for engagement with said inner surfaces, said frame and skirt means being constructed of high strength plastic material to a simulated wood appearance, interconnecting means for attaching side frame means to skirt means including complementally arranged apertures and insertable attaching means sized to be received by said apertures and complementally arranged recesses and interlocking projection means sized to be received by said recesses said interconnecting means enabling the engageable end surfaces to be placed in tight contact with said inner surfaces as well as interconnecting said frame and skirt means to form a functionally integral frame construction.

4. A plastic chair frame construction comprising: complementally side frame members each having a side skirt and depending, spaced-apart legs, inner surfaces on said side skirts in facing relationship to one another; complementary side skirt members having end surfaces for engagement with said inner surfaces, each of said members being constructed of high strength plastic material to a simulated wood appearance; means for interconnecting said frame members to said skirt members including complementally arranged recesses and interlocking projection means sized to be received by said recesses and attaching means extending transversely to the lengthwise axis of said legs and enabling the engageable end surfaces of the side skirt members to be placed in tight contact with the inner surfaces of said side skirts as well as interconnect the members in a fixed, immovable position relative to one another.

5. The chair frame of claim 4 where said attaching means comprises bolt means on one member and complementary arranged apertures on an adjacent member.

6. The chair frame of claim 5 where said members have integrally formed seat .attaching means.

7. A plastic chair frame construction comprising: complementary side frame members each having a side skirt and depending, spaced-apart legs, inner surfaces on said side skirts in facing relationship to one another; complementary side skirt members having end surfaces for engagement with said inner surfaces, at least one of said members having integrally formed back support means, said back support means having means for enabling attachment of a back support, each of said members being constructed of high strength plastic material to a simulated wood appearance; means for interconnecting said frame members to said skirt members including complementally arranged recesses and interlocking projection means sized to be received by said recesses and attaching means extending transversely to the lengthwise axis of said legs and enabling the engageable end surfaces of the side skirt members to be placed in tight contact with the inner surfaces of said side skirts as well as interconnect the members in a fixed immovable position relative to one another.

8. A plastic chair frame construction comprising: right and left hand side frame members each having front and rear legs and a side skirt and forward and rearward inner surfaces on said side frame members in facing relationship to one another; front and rear skirt members having end surfaces for engagement with said inner surfaces, said members being constructed of high strength plastic material to a simulated wood appearance; means for interconnecting said front and rear skirt members to said side frame members including complementally arranged recesses and interlocking projection means sized to be received by said recesses and attaching means extending transversely to the lengthwise axis of said legs and enabling the engaging surfaces of the skirt and frame members to be placed in tight contact with one another as well as interconnect the members in a fixed, immovable position relative to one another.

9. The chair frame of claim 8 where said attaching means comprises bolt means on one member and complementary arranged apertures on an adjacent member.

10. The chair frame of claim 9 where said members have integrally formed seat attaching means.

11. A plastic chair construction comprising: right and left hand side frame members each having a side skirt with depending front and rear legs and an upwardly extending rear post, said side skirt having forward and rearward inner surfaces in facing relationship to one another; front and rear skirt members having end surfaces for engagement with said inner surfaces, said members being constructed of high strength plastic material to a simulated wood appearance; means for interconnecting said front and rear skirt members to said side frame members including complementally arranged recesses and interlocking projection means sized to be received by said recesses and attaching means extending transversely to the lengthwise axis of said legs and enabling the engaging surfaces of the skirt and frame members to be placed in tight contact with one another as well as interconnect the members in .a fixed, immovable position relative to one another, a chair back disposed between back posts of said side frame member, and means for interconnecting said chair back to said back posts.

12. A furniture frame construction comprising side frame means each having front and rear legs, a side skirt and a back support member, front and back skirt means, said frame and skirt means being formed to simulated wood design and constructed of high strength plastic, interconnecting means for attaching side frame means to skirt means including complementally arranged apertures and insertable attaching means sized to be received by said apertures and complementally arranged recesses and interlocking projection means sized to be received by said recesses whereby said base and leg means can be interconnected to form a functionally integral frame construction, and a backrest formed of simulated wood design and constructed of high strength plastic, said backrest and back support means having complementally arranged interconnecting means.

13. The construction of claim 12 wherein said skirt means have means for permitting attachment of a seat member.

14. A furniture frame construction comprising: two pairs of plastic furniture legs and two respective plastic skirts each of said skirts and two legs formed therewith providing .an integrally molded piece to produce two integrally molded pieces having opposing surfaces; a further pair of molded plastic skirts for rigidly connecting together said two molded pieces, outwardly extending interlocking projections and complementary shaped recesses formed in surfaces common to said skirts and said further skirt pair, and at least two bolt members for drawing said common skirt surfaces together in order to lock said projections into said complementary shaped recesses to provide said rigid connection.

15. A furniture frame construction according to claim 14 wherein said integrally molded pieces and said further 6 pair of molded plastic skirts comprise high-impact polystyrene reinforced with fiber glass.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 210,010 1/1968 Stone D13-6 1,718,321 6/1929 Vericel 297-440 3,240,460 3/1966 Petersen 248-188.8

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,452,222 9/1966 France.

940,583 10/ 1963 Great Britain.

CASMLR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

